This application claims the benefit of and priority to Germany Application 101 19 081.6, filed Apr. 19, 2001, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a holder for lamps, in particular, to fluorescent lamp holders.
2. Background of the Invention
Fluorescent lamps are often designed as straight tubes that bear a two-pin electrical contact (i.e., a two-pin cap) at both ends. In order to hold and make contact with such fluorescent lamps, special holders are provided and arranged opposite to one another at a distance approximately corresponding to the length of the fluorescent lamp.
Such a holder is disclosed, for example, in German reference DE 199 17 682 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The lamp holder has a housing with an insertion slot for the lateral insertion of two lamp pins. A disk-shaped housing part is rotatably mounted on the front side of the housing, and is penetrated by the insertion slot. In addition, the housing is designed in two parts. The housing front part bears contact elements for making electrical contact with the two lamp pins, the rotatably mounted part and fastening elements for stationary mounting of the holder. The other housing part forms a base that is to be fastened separately on the front part. Provided for this purpose are plug-in opening connectors provided on the front part, and pins provided on the base that constitute a degree of outlay on production.
Contact lugs or contact springs that are removed from external access are situated directly under the rotatably mounted front part.
DE 2 708 426, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses a lamp holder with a rotary member for fluorescent lamps, the rotary member penetrating a housing. A tubular pivot that is laterally slotted is also provided. Such a pivot covers the contact springs when it is in the insertion position. The pivot is latched on the rear side of the holder with the aid of the holder housing. This holder is critical in relation to the mounting of the holder itself. The contact springs cannot be directly inserted into the housing from the front side or rear side. This mounting scheme is not conducive to efficient automation.
DE 197 45 762 C1, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses a fluorescent lamp bolder with a radial support of contact pins of the lamp. For this purpose, the housing part holding the rotary member is provided with a tubular shoulder that holds the pivot, extending into the housing, of the rotary member. The tubular shoulder is dimensioned such that the contact pins of the fluorescent lamp slide along its outer surface when it is rotated into the connecting position.
EP 758 808 A2, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses a fluorescent lamp holder with a rotary member that is held in the housing by two latching limbs. The rotary member has a slotted front section that runs flush in a housing opening in the front side of the housing, without overreaching the housing. From the rear side of the housing, two resilient limbs project into the interior of the rotary member and latch the latter approximately at the level of the front shield. This design is particularly unsuitable for fluorescent lamps with a relatively narrow pin spacing.
The present invention is directed at eliminating and/or reducing one or more of the problems set forth above, and other problems found within the prior art. It is therefore an object of the invention to create a holder for lamps with a pin cap, in particular fluorescent lamps, that is easy to fabricate and which is suitable for lamps with a relatively small pin spacing.
A holder according to an aspect of the invention has a rotary member with a pivot section extending into the housing. The rotary member is held on a wall of the housing, by mounting the front end section of the pivot section on the holder housing. Preferably, the rotary member is held on the rear wall of the housing. At least partially due to this particular fastening scheme, no substantial space is required for fastening on the outer side of the pivot section of the rotary member or in its interior. Preferably, the fastener is arranged such that is do not come into contact with the contact pins of the fluorescent lamp. In other words, the fastener is preferably arranged completely in an axial region that is not reached by the contact pins. For this purpose, the length of the insertion slot measured in the axial direction is preferably greater than the length of the contact pins of the fluorescent lamp, the fastener(s) being arranged outside this length. Measured from the front shield up to its end section serving the purpose of fastening, the pivot section, therefore, preferably has a length that is greater than the length of the contact pins.
At least partially due to the preferred length relationship, the pivot section can be of a substantially slim design without becoming too delicate. The outside diameter of the pivot is preferably somewhat smaller than the distance separating the connecting surfaces, pointing away from one another, of the connecting pins. The slot width is preferably at least as large as the diameter of the connecting pins. The difference between two sizes yields the permissible thickness of the limbs of the pivot section. By fastening the pivot solely at its front end face, the thickness of the limbs is sufficiently large.
The retaining pin for the rotor is preferably constructed on the rear wall of the housing. This allows the possibility of simple mounting, particularly when the retaining pin is designed as a latching pin. The rotor then need only be inserted into the housing opening and latched in the rear wall with the aid of appropriate pressure. It is also possible in this way to use the rotor for holding the housing part together, particularly when the disk-shaped front shield of the rotor overreaches the front wall of the housing.
In one preferred embodiment, the fastener is designed with little or no play. The latter is achieved in that the distance between the outer side of the front wall of the housing and a correspondingly orientated bearing surface of the retaining pin is somewhat greater than the distance measured between the complementary surfaces of the rotor. As a result, the fastener clamps the rotor with its front shield against the front wall of the housing.
A fastener with little or no play can also be achieved by providing the latching pin with conical surfaces that are assigned a conical region in the opening of the end section of the pivot, The conical surfaces effect axial prestressing of the rotor into the housing.
The conical sections permit an improved centering and a bearing of the rotor substantially without (or with substantially very little) axial play.
Latching elements that are arranged between the front shield and the front wall of the housing can serve to set latching moments and a moment of resistance that counteracts the rotation of the rotor. The resiliently designed latching noses can be part of the front wall and engage in depressions that are formed in the front shield of the rotor. Tolerance compensation and adaptation to desired braking moments can be undertaken by varying the height of the latching noses.
The holder described is relatively insensitive to manufacturing tolerances of the rotor, In particular, manufacturing tolerances that result in the insertion slot of the rotor widening away from the front end section are relatively harmless. If the rotor is inserted into the housing opening, the inner edge of the housing opening guides the pivot section on its outer lateral surface such that the section takes the desired shape and its limbs are held substantially parallel.
Another improvement can be found in the guidance of the rotor on the housing. Harmful influences of manufacturing tolerance on guidance of the rotor can be removed or reduced by providing a separate bearing or guide device that can be constructed between the front wall and the front shield. The guide device is preferably formed by an arcuate rib that is arranged concentrically with the axis of rotation of the rotor, and by a groove complementary thereto. The rib can be part of the front shield, while the groove can be incorporated in the front wall. Moreover, it is possible to accommodate, the groove in the front shield, while the rib is part of the front wall. The guide device acts as a radial bearing, and bears the halves of the front shield radially inward and radially outward.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a lamp holder is provided comprising a housing, a contact pin retainer arranged within the housing, a rotary member rotatably mounted in the housing, and a fastener for fastening the rotary member to the housing. The contact pin retainer is adapted to receive a lamp contact pin. The rotary member comprises an insertion slot, a front shield, and a slotted pivot section extending away from the front shield and into the housing. The fastener includes a retaining pin fixed to the housing and penetrates a bearing opening provided in an end section of the slotted pivot section.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of holding a lamp is provided comprising the steps of providing a lamp holder housing with a housing opening, inserting a rotary member into the housing opening, fastening the rotary member to the housing in such a way that the rotary member is locked in an axial direction and is rotatable about the axial direction, and coupling at least one electrical contact within the housing to at least one electrical contact on the lamp.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a lamp holder is provided comprising a multi piece housing including an upper housing part positioned adjacent to and above a lower housing part, electrical contacts provided within the upper housing, a rotary member including a pivot section protruding into an opening within the upper housing part and a facial portion positioned on a surface of the upper housing part opposite to the lower housing part, and a fastener for fastening the pivot section to the lower housing part. The lower housing part includes at least one guide for aligning the lower housing part to the upper housing part. The electrical contacts are adapted to engage corresponding pin contacts on a lamp. The fastener fastens the rotary member to the housing in such a way that the rotary member is locked in an axial direction and is rotatable about the axial direction.